Property Sales: “Conditional Acceptance” of an Offer is Not Acceptance, It’s Rejection
“The conditional acceptance of an offer amounts to rejection of same and not the conclusion of a contract, but may be a counter–offer.” (Extract from judgment below) A good offer comes in for your property, so you accept it. But you’re not happy with a few of the...
Budget 2024: What it means for you
“Our bigger challenge… is that our pie is not growing fast enough and this limits our ability to generate sufficient revenues to distribute among our priority areas.” (Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana – Budget 2024) Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s third Budget...
The Most Important Part of a Financial Plan: Room for Error
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” (Yogi Berra) A sound financial plan is invaluable. It looks ahead to what you want from your money and gives you a way of measuring how well you are doing in getting there. It gives you a lot of...
Market Update: Initial Investor Vote of Confidence Dissipates in Wake of Budget
Investor sentiment turns sour Investors’ initial vote on the government’s Budget was positive with the rand firming and bond yields declining. But sentiment soon turned negative once the details and ramifications of National Treasury’s decisions were fully digested....
Tax Tip: Must-Do Top Ups in February
RAs: The big one Retirement Annuities (RAs) offer significant tax breaks as contributions to the investments are tax-deductible, and the growth within the funds is tax-free. (No income, dividends or capital gains tax applies.) You can contribute a maximum of 27.5% of...
Why Buyers Should Ask for Building Plans (and Why Sellers Should Supply Them)
“No person shall without the prior approval in writing of the local authority in question, erect any building in respect of which plans and specifications are to be drawn and submitted in terms of this Act.” (National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act)...
A Valentine’s Day Thought for Life Partners: What is a “Universal Partnership”?
“Marriage is the chief cause of divorce” (Groucho Marx) This Valentine’s Day, think about the legal aspects of your romantic relationship. They’re a lot less exciting than the traditional declarations of love backed up by chocolates and flowers, but they’re just as...
Estate Planning: Remember your Pets!
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” (Mahatma Gandhi) For many of us our pets are a central part of our lives, our much loved “fur babies”, our companions, exercise partners, even therapists through the...
How to Avoid Getting Burnt by the Next Investment Bubble in 2024
“We cannot reason ourselves out of our basic irrationality. All we can do is learn the art of being irrational in a reasonable way.” (Aldous Huxley). The madness of crowds None of us are rational investors. We’re humans – fuelled by fear, overconfidence, and sometimes...
Did 2017 Change the Way You Invest?
“What we believe is heavily influenced by what we think others believe.” (Thomas Gilovich) Do you remember 2017? It wasn’t that long ago, but few of us can probably recall what markets did that year. For the record, it was a great year for stock markets. The JSE All...
Plan Your Estate to Protect Your Family – Two End-of-Year Questions to Ask Yourself
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” (Songwriters Pola & Wyle) As the end of another year approaches, with its family celebrations and holidays, take the time to check that your estate plan really does ensure that your loved ones will be looked after when you...
Should you be an Optimist or a Pessimist With Your Money?
“Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the aeroplane, the pessimist the parachute.” (George Bernard Shaw) Cast your mind back to the middle of March 2020, when fears around Covid-19 sent the JSE into a spiral. The All Share Index...